Ellis Pribyl

Chinese Poker: Rules, Scoring and Royalties

Chinese poker splits thirteen cards into three separate hands, and it rewards the player who sets those hands better than anyone else at the table. If you already know standard five-card hand rankings, you're most of the way there — the rest is learning how three rows, royalty bonuses and the surrender rule fit together. I've played this game in home cash sessions for years, and the scoring system trips up more beginners than the hand-setting does. For players who study the math between sessions, NZT's poker variants guide is one option worth exploring.

What Is Chinese Poker?

Chinese poker is a card game for two to four players in which each player gets thirteen cards and arranges them into three hands: a five-card back hand, a five-card middle hand, and a three-card front hand. Unlike Hold'em or Omaha, there's no community board or betting during the deal — the game happens entirely through hand-setting and comparison. Players score points by beating opponents' rows, and royalties reward strong hands.

Chinese poker cards arranged into three rows on a felt table

How to Play Chinese Poker

In chinese poker, each player gets thirteen cards and privately arranges them into the back, middle and front hands. The back hand must rank highest, the middle second, and the front lowest — a rule beginners break most often. You can't set two pair in your front hand and a lower two pair in your middle hand; the middle must always outrank the front, and the back must outrank the middle.

Once every player sets their three rows, hands are revealed and compared row by row against each opponent. You win or lose points on each row independently, so you can win your back hand against one opponent while losing your front hand to another. This closed-hand format — seeing only your own thirteen cards before setting — is what separates classic chinese poker rules from open-face Chinese, which reveals cards one at a time and adds a Fantasyland bonus round.

Chinese Poker Scoring and Royalties

Basic chinese poker scoring uses a simple unit system: winning a row earns one unit, losing a row costs one unit. Beat an opponent on all three rows and you typically collect a scoop bonus, which usually doubles the points for that matchup. Your final score is the sum of three separate two-player row comparisons.

Royalties add extra points on top of basic unit scoring whenever a row qualifies. A full house or better in the back hand, a flush or better in the middle hand, or trips in the front hand typically trigger a royalty bonus. This is why chinese poker hands are worth setting carefully — a strong row can swing extra units even in a losing matchup.

Common Royalty Triggers by Row (Standard Point Values)
Row	Minimum Qualifying Hand	Typical Royalty Range
Front (3 cards)	Trips	10-22 pts
Middle (5 cards)	Full house	2-30 pts
Back (5 cards)	Full house	1-25 pts

Surrender Rule and Bombs Explained

Most home games allow a surrender option: if your initial thirteen cards look unplayable, you can fold before setting your rows and pay a small fixed penalty instead of risking a bigger loss. It's a safety valve, though experienced players surrender less often than beginners expect. A bomb is a premium natural hand dealt in the original thirteen cards — commonly four of a kind or better — that pays out at a fixed, elevated point value against every opponent regardless of how they set their rows.

Avoiding a Foul

A hand that breaks the back-middle-front ranking order is called a foul, usually costing the maximum penalty against every opponent. Double-check your middle hand against your front hand before revealing — it's the pairing most players misjudge.

Chinese Poker Variants and Learning Resources

Classic chinese poker is the closed-hand version above, but it's not the only way people play. Open-face Chinese, or OFC, deals cards one at a time and adds Fantasyland — a different structure worth reading up on separately. Away from the table, players study hand combinations using solvers or simple practice, and some track sessions with a poker tracker. Whichever tools you use, the fundamentals stay the same: know your rankings cold, and think one row ahead. For the canonical rule set, see Chinese poker.

Curious How Poker Variants Compare?

If you want a side-by-side look at Chinese poker versus other formats, this guide is one option worth exploring.

See the Poker Variants Guide

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What is Chinese poker?

Chinese poker is a card game where two to four players each get thirteen cards and split them into three hands: a five-card back hand, a five-card middle hand, and a three-card front hand. Players score points by comparing each row against every opponent's matching row, with bonus royalties for strong hands.

How do you play Chinese poker?

Each player privately arranges thirteen cards into back, middle and front hands, with the back ranked highest and the front lowest. Once everyone sets their rows, hands are revealed and compared row by row against each opponent, and points are won or lost on each row independently.

How is Chinese poker scored?

Basic scoring awards one unit for winning a row and costs one unit for losing it, with a scoop bonus, often doubling points, for winning all three rows against one opponent. Royalties add extra points for qualifying hands, such as a full house or better in the back or middle row, or trips in the front row.

How many cards do you get in Chinese poker?

Each player is dealt thirteen cards in a standard Chinese poker hand, split into a five-card back hand, a five-card middle hand, and a three-card front hand. A full four-handed game uses all 52 cards in the deck with none left over.

What is a bomb in Chinese poker?

A bomb is a premium natural hand, commonly four of a kind or better, dealt within a player's original thirteen cards. Rather than being scored row by row, a bomb typically pays a fixed, elevated point value against every opponent regardless of how they arranged their own hands.

When was Chinese poker invented?

Chinese poker's exact origins aren't well documented, but the game is generally understood to have developed in Asia and spread internationally during the 20th century, gaining wider popularity in the West from the 1980s and 1990s onward through home games and card rooms.

What other names is Chinese poker known by?

The game is most commonly called Chinese poker, though it's sometimes referred to as pusoy or Russian poker in different regional traditions. The open-face variant that deals cards one at a time is a separate, related game usually called open-face Chinese poker or OFC.